New numbers from the Wisconsin Health Department show at least 15 percent of Milwaukee's children are not vaccinated against measles.

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Updated: 6:34 PM CDT May 9, 2019

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CLINICS. >> THIS CLINIC IN GREENFIELD IS ONE OF 23 PRIMARY CARE FACILITIES CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN HAS DESIGNATED FOR FAMILIES TO SCHEDULE AND COME IN AND GET THEIR MEASLES, MUMPS, AND RUBELLA VACCINE. >> WE HAVE STILL A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF UNVACCINATED OR UNDER VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. >> CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN PEDIATRICIAN DR. LYN RANTA SAYS THAT MEANS WE’RE ON THE VERGE OF A DAGEROUS MEASLES OUTBREAK IN THE MILWAUKEE AREA STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT NUMBERS RELEASED TODAY ESTIMATE THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN THE MILWAUKEE AREA AND THOUSANDS MORE AROUND THE STATE WHO ARE NOT PROTECTED. WHY HAVEN’T WE HAD A CASE OF MEASLES HERE IN WISCONSIN? >> WE’VE JUST BEEN LUCKY. IT WILL COME. >> AND WHEN MEASLES COMES IT CAN BE ESPECIALLY DEADLY FOR BABIES, THOSE WHO ARE IMMUNE COMPROMISED, AND OTHERS WHO ARE NOT VACCINATED. >> WE ARE AT VERY HIGH RISK OF HAVING IT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE. >> DR. JORGE RAMILLO IS AN INTERNIST AND PEDIATRICIAN WHOSE 16TH STREET COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS IN MILWAUKEE ARE REACHING OUT TO PARENTS, URGING THEM TO GET THEIR CHILDREN VACCINATED. IS WISCONSIN AT PARTICULAR RISK WHEN IT COMES TO MEASLES? >> WE ARE, CERTAINLY. WE ARE THE FIFTH STATE THAT HAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF UNIMMUNIZED CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES. >> AND DID MEASLES CAN KILL? >> MEASLES CAN CERTAINLY KILL. IT’S A VERY DEADLY DISEASE. >> HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE URGING PARENTS TO CHECK WITH THEIR DOCTORS TO SEE IF THEIR CHILD NEEDS TO BE VACCINATED FOR MEASLES. IN GREENFIELD, TERRY SATER, WISN 12 NEWS. JOYCE: MILWAUKEE’S MAYOR SAID HE’S BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THE CITY’S HEALTH COMMISSIONER ABOUT THE MEASLES. >> WE HAVE NOT HAD THE OUTBREAK THEY HAVE HAD IN OTHER STATES. WE ARE WATCHING IT CLOSELY. WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET THEIR KIDS VACCINATED. JOYCE: WISCONSIN IS ONE OF 27 STATES WITHOUT A CONFIRMED CASE OF THE MEASLES. SEVERAL SURROUNDING STATES DO, HOWEVER. AND HERE’S A LOOK AT THE CURRENT NUMB

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New numbers from the Wisconsin Health Department show at least 15 percent of Milwaukee's children are not vaccinated against measles.

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Updated: 6:34 PM CDT May 9, 2019

New numbers from the Wisconsin Health Department show at least 15 percent of Milwaukee's children are not vaccinated against measles.The data was released Thursday at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.That 15 percent is equal to about 10,000 kids.The hospital network is now offering measles vaccination clinics at each of its 23 locations.Dr. Lyn Ranta said the high number of un-vaccinated children in Wisconsin means the state could be on the verge of a dangerous measles outbreak in the Milwaukee area.Ranta said Wisconsin has been lucky to not yet have seen a measles case."It will come," she warned.Measles is especially deadly for babies, those with compromised immune systems and those who are not vaccinated."We are at very high risk of having it spread like wildfire," said Dr. Jorge Ramillo of Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers.The health center is urging parents to get their children vaccinated."We are the fifth state that has the largest number of un-immunized children in the United States," Ramillo said.A patient who contracts measles can be contagious before being diagnosed.The state said it has no way of knowing if a parent or guardian has decided not to vaccinate a child.

MILWAUKEE —

New numbers from the Wisconsin Health Department show at least 15 percent of Milwaukee's children are not vaccinated against measles.

The data was released Thursday at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

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That 15 percent is equal to about 10,000 kids.

The hospital network is now offering measles vaccination clinics at each of its 23 locations.

Dr. Lyn Ranta said the high number of un-vaccinated children in Wisconsin means the state could be on the verge of a dangerous measles outbreak in the Milwaukee area.

Ranta said Wisconsin has been lucky to not yet have seen a measles case.

"It will come," she warned.

Measles is especially deadly for babies, those with compromised immune systems and those who are not vaccinated.

"We are at very high risk of having it spread like wildfire," said Dr. Jorge Ramillo of Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers.

The health center is urging parents to get their children vaccinated.

"We are the fifth state that has the largest number of un-immunized children in the United States," Ramillo said.

A patient who contracts measles can be contagious before being diagnosed.

The state said it has no way of knowing if a parent or guardian has decided not to vaccinate a child.